


when azaleas bloom

by covellite



Series: ARFOV [11]
Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, First Meetings, Gen, M/M, Mild Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:34:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28729719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/covellite/pseuds/covellite
Summary: Wels hears word of a new vampire hanging around, and takes it upon himself to meet the man.
Series: ARFOV [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2059134
Kudos: 17





	when azaleas bloom

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Caleb Trask" by the Crane Wives.

He’d gained a reputation among the humans in the area. Although they weren’t officially ruled by a clan, all the humans lived in fear of the two clans the tiny town sat between. Wels had fought more than one vampire trying to establish dominance over the humans. With every fight won and human saved, the people began to trust him more. It was nice feeling needed, even though he knew their admiration of him could be destroyed with a single misstep. He’d leave before that happened, though.

For the time being, Wels spent his days and nights patrolling the town’s border and helping the humans in whatever small ways he could. It was normal for someone to seek him out when they needed something, and he thrived on making their uncertain lives more bearable. So when a woman came up to him asking for help he didn’t blink twice.

She told him of a new vampire she and her wife had seen on the far side of the beach. He’d apparently set up camp there, and didn’t appear to be aligned with the ocean clan. Another villager had disappeared a few months earlier while walking along that same beach; everyone had assumed it was the ocean clan, but if there was a new vampire around, he could disrupt the careful ecosystem they’d all spent so long cultivating.

That night Wels set out in search of the vampire. He had put on all his armor and helmet and shined his sword to look especially threatening. Wels knew how dangerous he looked in the moonlight, and he intended to make use of that. That is, until he actually saw the vampire.

He was a fairly regular looking man from a distance, dark t-shirt and cargo shorts. As Wels got closer the man turned, crimson eyes widening in.. fear? He stumbled back and any thought Wels had of fighting left his mind. This vampire was no threat. He could feel it in his bones.

“Hello, friend,” he said, sheathing his sword and waving. The man waved back slowly. “You must be new around here.”

“I guess?” The man shrugged. “Six months, maybe. Who are you?”

“Wels. I protect the nearby town.” He took off his helmet as he spoke, and the man took another step back.

“I don’t want any trouble. If I’m too close to your… property or whatever, I’ll leave.” He was looking back and forth as he spoke, looking for a path Wels couldn’t follow. But Wels knew the beach well, and even in his armor he was fast. The only place the other vampire could escape was the ocean.

The man must have had the same thought, as he suddenly darted toward the water. Wels chased after him, grabbing hold of his arm just before they reached the edge of the beach. “I just want to talk.”

“I already told you I’ll leave. Just let me go.” He pulled fruitlessly against Wels’ steady grasp.

“You don’t need to leave,” Wels said slowly, trying to get him to calm down. “I just need to know your intentions.”

“My what?” The man stopped and looked at Wels. “Oh. You mean towards the humans? I- maybe it’s best I leave. I didn’t realize there was a town near here.”

Wels took the time to properly examine the man, and nearly gasped in horror. His arms were covered in bites and needle marks. So was his neck, but to a much smaller degree.

“You were a bloodbag.” His voice was colder than he’d anticipated, but he was too distracted by the marks along the man’s body. “Holy  _ fuck _ , man.”

“Let me go.”

Wels did, but the man didn’t leave, and they stood there awkwardly staring at each other.

“I’ll get my things and leave. I don’t want to live so close to humans,” the man eventually said. He started to walk away, and Wels spoke.

“What’s your name?”

“Impulse. Why?” He’d stopped walking.

“I like to know my friends’ names.”

“Are we friends?”

“Not yet.” He walked closer to Impulse, purposely loud to avoid scaring him off, and put a hand on his arm. Impulse turned back to him. “But I think we could be. You don’t want to hurt humans. I can help you.”

“Can you really?” His voice was full of distrust. “I’ve heard that line before.”

“Yes. There’s a group I know that’s dedicated to helping humans and vampires. You’re new, aren’t you?” He waited until Impulse nodded. “They can teach you to control yourself around blood.”

“Is this another vampire buffet party?” Impulse’s voice was shaking. Wels recoiled — properly, physically recoiled. “Because I won’t fall for that again.”

“No,” Wels promised. “Who took you to one of  _ those _ ?” He was already aching to find the vampire responsible and drive his sword through their unbeating heart. He’d seen the aftermath of such an event, and it had sickened his stomach like he hadn’t spent centuries fighting.

Impulse didn’t answer. Wels changed his tune.

“How about this: I’ll bring the group leader here. You can meet him and if you still don’t want anything to do with his group, you don’t have to join. I’ll leave you alone."

Impulse considered for a moment, not as long as Wels thought he would. “Fine.”

Wels sighed in relief. “You won’t regret this, Impulse.”

Silence fell again and Wels was just about to leave when Impulse spoke.

“Would you like some coffee? I know we don’t need the caffeine, but it’s kinda cold out here.”

Wels smiled. “Sure.”

Impulse’s little hut was surprisingly cozy despite its battered exterior. An intricately carved walking stick rested near the door and Wels wondered about its history, but doubted now was the time to ask. It was the only thing in the room that looked like it actually belonged to Impulse. Everything else had probably been found or stolen.

They made coffee and sat at the small table in a quiet that wasn’t comfortable but wasn’t awkward either. Sitting there, warm mug in his hand and listening to the wind outside, Wels could almost pretend he was somewhere else, that he had stayed in that little cabin in the woods and was waiting for the humans that lived there to wake. But he’d left that home before tragedy could strike, and he’d promised himself to never go back. That pain would fade eventually, he knew. It always did.

“What’s with the armor?” Impulse asked right as the quiet was getting too much to handle.

“What’s with the cargo shorts?”

“Fair enough.” Impulse laughed and Wels smiled at the sound. Now that Impulse wasn’t scared of him and was in a place he clearly felt comfortable, he looked much happier. Wels was willing to bet in another life, one where he hadn’t been held captive and used as a bloodbag, happiness was Impulse’s natural state. He had a face built for smiling.

“I like armor. It makes me look almost as impressive as I really am.” He allowed himself to boast a little, wanting to see Impulse smile more. It paid off.

“Well, I like cargo shorts. I can hold things in them.” He opened one of his pockets and pulled out a smooth rock, setting it on the table. “Look at this! I found it earlier today.”

Wels picked up the rock and spun it around. “It’s a very nice rock,” he admitted. “Maybe cargo shorts have a use.”

“Something tells me you would never wear them.”

Wels made a face. “Never. I’m hard rock.”

Impulse raised an eyebrow, and Wels pouted. “You sure about that, buddy? ‘Cause I’m thinking you’re more of a knight in shining armor than a rock star.”

“You just haven’t seen me in my regular clothes. One look at me in my leather jacket and you’d be a goner. No one can resist swooning over me.”

Impulse laughed hard at that, and Wels couldn’t bring himself to be offended. He was always a sucker for a pretty smile, after all.

Wels didn’t know what Xisuma and Impulse had talked about during their meeting two days later, but he did know that whatever Xisuma said worked. Impulse agreed to visit the main base, so Wels showed up bright and early the next morning to escort him. He’d convinced False to watch over the town, not wanting the humans there to be without a protector and also not wanting False to be at the base when Impulse arrived. She had a tendency to scare people, and the last thing Wels wanted was his progress on making Impulse comfortable washed away. His grip on Wels' hand got progressively tighter as they got closer to the base and Wels almost stopped and turned around, but Impulse promised he was alright, so they kept on.

The base, a repurposed office building deep in the city, was easy to overlook. If Wels didn't know what was inside he never would have picked it out as a busy hub for both humans and vampires. Inside was a different matter. The basement housed scientists' labs, the upper floors were farms, and in the middle of it all was a small but thriving human community.

He led Impulse down to Stress's workshop. She was already prepared, blood samples on her desk and a tub of water on standby. When she saw the pair she smiled brightly.

"Hello, Wels! And this is Impulse, right? Lovely to meet you!" Impulse flinched away from her slightly, and she toned down her voice. "Am I too loud? Sorry about that, love. I get ahead of meself sometimes. I'm Stress."

They shook hands. "You're the one who can teach me not to freak out around blood?"

"That I am. Well, others could do it too, but I'm the best at it."

Impulse was starting to smile, and let go of Wels' hand. "Alright. What you got for me?"

Stress had him sit against the wall as Wels stood in the corner. He'd been through this many times before, and knew his role. Stay back unless something goes wrong. Pretend he wasn't there.

Stress picked up her blood sample and showed it to Impulse. "I'm gonna open this now, okay?" He nodded and she slowly opened the lid.

Impulse immediately tensed up, and Wels could see the way his eyes had zeroed in on the blood. He covered his mouth and nose with his hands as she opened it further. Wels was so distracted by the gills forming on Impulse's neck that he barely noticed in time that he had started moving. He grabbed Impulse by the back of his shirt just as he tried to lunge at Stress and dunked his head into the tub, not letting him up until Stress had the lid safely back on the sample.

The three of them stared at each other, Impulse dripping wet and looking ashamed. Wels had never seen someone have that little control around blood.

"What was your animal again? Shark?" Stress asked, cheeriness now more of a facade than usual. Impulse nodded. "Good sense of smell, then. Makes things harder. But that's alright! We can work with that."

Impulse looked away as Wels handed him a towel.

"You've already passed the hardest part," Stress said while he roughly dried his hair. "You don't want to hurt anyone, so you came here. Lots of vampires won't do that."

Impulse continued toweling his hair and said nothing.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Tender Melodies](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28832547) by [GoldenPaca](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenPaca/pseuds/GoldenPaca)




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